Lebanon shooting victim fighting for his life

Friday

Jan 18, 2013 at 3:15 AMJan 18, 2013 at 5:33 AM

By Liz Markhlevskayalmark@fosters.com

LEBANON, Maine — The two people arrested in connection with the 2nd Street shooting last week which left a local man paralyzed from the waist down and fighting for his life were scheduled to be extradited to Maine after their arraignment Thursday in Dover, N.H.

Ronald Bauer, 48, formerly of Milton, and Susan Gutierrez, 48, of Pine Street in Rochester, appeared in Dover Circuit Court Thursday afternoon to answer to fugitive from justice charges, for allegedly fleeing from Maine to New Hampshire while knowing they had committed assault in Maine on Jan. 8.

Gutierrez, who was ordered held on $200,000 cash bail Thursday, and Bauer, whose bail with Dover Circuit Court was pending, were each charged with elevated aggravated assault and hindering apprehension out of Maine, and will face those charges in Maine at a later date.

The two suspects were arrested Wednesday after a Maine State Police investigation into the shooting at 11 2nd Street in Lebanon on Jan. 8, in which 41-year-old Richard Potorski was shot after returning home for lunch. Police allege Bauer shot Potorski while intending to commit a burglary, and that Gutierrez dropped Bauer off at the 2nd Street residence shortly before the shooting. After firing the weapon, the shooter allegedly used Potorski's Ford Explorer as a getaway vehicle, which was later found abandoned at the Big Lots loading dock in Rochester, N.H., according to Maine State Police.

The single bullet is believed to have struck not only Potorski's shoulder and chest, but also his spine, said Chase. She said Potorski, who police say remains hospitalized at Maine Medical Center, is also struggling with pneumonia, and will be paraplegic for the rest of his life as a result of the bullet wound.

“Right now he's fighting for his life. They don't know if he's going to survive,” said Chase after Bauer's arraignment.

Bauer and Gutierrez are also associated with a separate investigation by police involving a robbery. According to Chase, after the Jan. 8 shooting in Lebanon, Gutierrez is believed to have fled to Massachusetts with Bauer, who is being investigated in connection to a robbery of a pharmacy in Fall River, Mass. The robbery occurred after the Jan. 8 shooting. Chase said she could not provide further information on that investigation at this time, but said more details might be released to the public soon.

According to Maine State Police, Bauer and Gutierrez intended to burglarize Potorski's home “to feed their drug habit.”

Chase said she had no information on whether Potorski knew the suspects, or what type of weapon was used. She could not comment on what, if anything, was taken from the 2nd Street home during the alleged burglary.

Bauer, said Chase, “has a significant New Hampshire (criminal) history,” which dates back decades.

In 2009 in Strafford County, Bauer was convicted of felony possession of narcotic drugs, possession of a dangerous weapon, and possession of a controlled drug with intent to sell.

In 1992, he was convicted of burglary, two counts of witness tampering, and three counts of theft by unauthorized taking.

In 1984, Bauer was convicted of receiving stolen property and burglary.

Chase said Bauer had additional convictions for misdemeanor-level offenses.

Gutierrez, who moved to Rochester about a month ago, according to her statements during Thursday's arraignment, also has a history of drug-related charges.

In 2010, she was convicted in Rockingham County of unlawfully selling prescription drugs. In 2009, she was convicted of unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs in Maine.

During her arraignment, Gutierrez said she was disabled, and stated she could not remember the address of the Pine Street residence where she lives.

Gutierrez will appear in Dover Circuit Court again on Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. for a review of her case.

Bauer, who has $400,000 cash bail out of Maine, has a scheduled court date in Dover on Feb. 14 at 12:30 p.m.

Because Bauer was on probation or parole during the shooting incident on Jan. 8, he will likely be transferred to a state prison, either in New Hampshire or Maine, said Chase.